Food and drink
Dreaming of drinking alcohol in Islam
In short
For al-Nabulusi, drinking wine can signify a grave sin and abundant provision, but also healing or loss of reason. Wine can also symbolize temptation, evil, hostility, and enmity.
A summary of the passages quoted below. These are authors’ interpretations, not a prediction: a dream is understood through the dreamer and all its details.
What the interpretation books say
al-Nabulusi — Taʿṭīr al-Anām fī Taʿbīr al-Manām
هو في المنام مال حرام بلا مشقة فمن رأى أنه يشرب الخمر فإنه يصيب إثما كبيرا ورزقا واسعا.
Wine in a dream is unlawful wealth obtained without hardship. Whoever sees himself drinking wine commits a grave sin and obtains abundant provision.
والخمر في المنام يدل على الفتنة والشرور العداوة والبغضاء وربما دل شرب الخمر على الشفاء من الداء وربما دل على زوال العقل بجنون أو هم بغيبة عن حسه
Wine in a dream indicates temptation, evils, hostility, and enmity. Drinking wine may indicate recovery from an illness, or loss of reason through madness or through a worry that makes him unaware.
Keep in mind
- An interpretation is a human effort: Abu Bakr himself was partly wrong before the Prophet ﷺ. (al-Bukhari 7046 and Muslim 2269)
- Appearances deceive: an unpleasant-looking dream may be interpreted as good, and vice versa. (al-Nawawi, Sharh Sahih Muslim 15/18)
- A dream is not a fatwa: make no serious decision on its strength alone. (al-Nawawi, Sharh Sahih Muslim 1/115)
If this dream upset you: what the Sunnah asks
The Prophet ﷺ taught that an unpleasant dream comes from Satan, and that it does not harm the one who does the following. (al-Bukhari 7045 · al-Bukhari 3292)
Seek Allah’s protection, three times
Against the evil of this dream and against Satan. The wording given by al-Nawawi: “aʿūdhu billāhi mina sh-shayṭāni wa min sharrihā” — I seek refuge with Allah from Satan and from the evil of this dream. (al-Bukhari 7044 · Muslim 2262 · al-Nawawi, Sharh Sahih Muslim 15/18)
Blow lightly three times to your left
The narrations say “blow” (nafth), “spit lightly” (tafl) or “spit” (basq): a light breath, to drive Satan away. (Muslim 2261 · al-Bukhari 7044 · Muslim 2262)
Turn over onto your other side
Change the side you were sleeping on. (Muslim 2262)
Get up and pray
If you can; al-Nawawi recommends two units of prayer (rakʿa). (Muslim 2263 · al-Nawawi, Sharh Sahih Muslim 15/18)
Tell no one about it
Neither recount it nor seek to have it interpreted. A Bedouin dreamt that his head was cut off; the Prophet ﷺ told him: “Do not tell of how Satan toys with you in your sleep.” (al-Bukhari 7045 · Muslim 2263 · Muslim 2268 · al-Nawawi, Sharh Sahih Muslim 15/18)
“It will not harm him”: that is the promise of the hadith. Al-Nawawi adds that doing only some of these acts is enough, by Allah’s leave. (al-Bukhari 7045 · al-Nawawi, Sharh Sahih Muslim 15/18)
Related symbols
- MilkThe Prophet ﷺ interpreted the milk he drank in a dream as knowledge (al-Bukhari, Muslim). For al-Nabulusi milk is the innate nature of Islam and lawful wealth gained without toil.
- WaterFor both books clear water is life, knowledge and ease, and drinking it is a good sign. Al-Nabulusi also reports the view attributed to Ibn Sirin: water can be a trial in religion.
- GrapesFor al-Nabulusi, grapes signify good and abundant provision; white grapes are associated with goodness and healing, while black grapes may signify worry, illness, or fear. The Muntakhab attributed to Ibn Sirin associates white grapes in season with the good of this world, and raisins with goodness and wealth.
All the symbols in the dictionary